Hopper car construction



Nov. 22, 1932. w. P. MURPHY HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1929 5Sheets-Sheet Inventor.- R

Nov. 22, 1932. w, P, MURPHY 1,888,327

HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 K m F gi l 5Invenlor: iVbfzerPMur by Nov. 22, 1932. w MURPHY 1,888,327

HOPPER CAR CONSTHUGT ION Filed Oct. 2. 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor:

flitmeg Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER 1.MURPHY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION METAL PRODUCTS'GJ,

COMPANY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE HOPPER GARCONSTRUCTION Application filed October 2,1929. Serial No. 396,665. i i.

door frame member made of an integral one piece casting, which, however,may be made of built up members, but I do prefer to form the door frameof an integral casting to assure a constant relationship between the'door and the door frame.

The perimeter of the door frame, or at least a part thereof, is providedwith oblique door engaging surfaces 10 and the door 11, which m ishingedly supported upon the car body or'' preferably upon the door frameitself, is also My invention relates to railway cars having dischargehoppers and more particularly to the relation between the hopper doorand the edges of the door opening which con- '5 stitute;a door frame. Ii

The object of the invention is to provide the door frame or a partthereof with means which cooperate with the adjacent margin of the doorto completely close the opening or at least provide sufliciently closeengagement between the door and the frame to retain the lading withinthe car.

A further object of the invention is to loosely hinge the door to thecar or to the door frame so that the hinge will not prevent the doorfrom being drawn into engage- V ment with the door frame.

Any convenient door raising, door looking or operating mechanism may beused with my construction.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical plan view of a hopper which, together with otherhoppers, forms the bottom portion of a railway hopper car.

Fig. 2 is a section through a typical hopper showing parts of the carconstruction.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3.3 of Fig. 2.

Fig.4: is a section on line 4-4: of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View showing the relation between the corner ofthe door and the corner of the door frame.

Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive show modifications described hereinafter.

In the drawings the usual parts of the car are shown, such as centersill 1; cover plate 2;

side sill 3 and side wall 4. The hopper is suspended between the centersill 1 and side wall at of the car and comprises an inner wall 5 andouter wall 6 connected by the hopper floor 7. The usual hopper car isprovided with four, siX or perhaps more of such hoppers and the adjacenthoppers on the same side of the car are connected by sloping walls 8.The hopper opening is surrounded by the hopper walls 5 and 6, hopperfloor 7 and upper sloping wall 8 and the portions of these memberssurrounding the door opening constitute a door frame.

The drawings show the hopper and the preferably provided with obliquesurfaces 12 which are adapted to cooperate with the door engagingsurface of the door frame to close m the door opening. 4 i i y In thepreferred form the oblique engaging surfaces are only provided at thesides and lower edge of the door opening, but if a more complete closureis desired to haul sand m or other fine material, this relationshipbetween the door and the door frame may be provided around the entireperimeterof the oor. ex

In the form illustrated in Figs. 3 and ithe door frame is jectingoblique flanges 14 and the door is provided with corresponding outwardlyprojecting, oblique flanges .15, and the oblique engaging surfaces 10and 12 are arranged upon the flanges. The margins of the door openingmay be further reinforced by providinga re -flange 16 at the outer edgeof the oblique flange l4 and the outer edges of the door may be furtherreinforced by providing are-flange 17 at the outer edge of the flange15, as shown in Fig. 6. I

I prefer to provide horizontal and vertical clearance between the hingepin and the hinge butt and/or strap so as to provide the socalled loosehinge so that'the hinge will not prevent the door from being drawn intoengagement with the engaging surface of the door frame whenthe door isbeing closed.

Fig. 7 showsthe hinge strap 18 provided with an elongated hole 19 toprovide a loose hinge construction.

Fig. 8 shows a construction whereln the oblique flanges 20 on thedoor-extend upwardly from the door instead of downwardly,

as shown in Fig. 6.

provided with outwardly pro- 75 Fig. 9 shows the door frame providedwith an arcuate flange so as to present a rounded surface to the door'26 and the door is provided with a corresponding arcuate flange 27which is adapted to cooperate with the arcuate flange of the frame toclose the opening. The contacting surfaces between the door frame andthe door do not necessarily have the same radii, as it is preferred thatthe radius of the arc of the door flange 27 be slightly larger than theradius of the flange 25 of the door frame so as to provide a linecontact between the two elements, which allows these elements to adjustthemselves to slight irregularities.

10 shows a construction wherein the frame is provided with an outwardlyflared 30 and the door is provided. with a 7 11011113941 surface 31which engages the flange 30 of .the frame to provide aline contact. Thisdoor may be stiffened if desired by the flanges -32 and33.

The portion of the frame adjacent the side walls 5 and 6, respectively,of the hopper mange into the lower portion of the hopper floor 7 oncomparatively large radii (36), as shown 'in 2 and 5, to assure a bettercontact between the door and the frame adjacent these corners. The uppercorners may be formed in a similar manner.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction hown and described. as itis obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of theclaims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a railway hopper car, the combination of a hopper door framehaving a discharae opening provided with an outwardly flared obliquedoor engaging surface borderting the entire perimeter of the dischargeopening, and a door provided with outwardly flared oblique surfacesbordering the entire perimeter of the door ada ted to engage the doorengaging surfaces of the frame when in closed 2. in a railway hoppercar. the combination of a hopper door frame having a discharge withrounded edges bordering the entire perimeter of the discharge opening,and a door provided with arcuate surfaces bordering the entire perimeterof the door adapted to engage said rounded edges when in closedposition.

3. In a railway hopper car. the combination of a hopper door framehaving a discharge opening with rounded edges bordering the entireperimeter of the discharge opening, and a door provided with arcuatesurfaces having radii larger than the radii of said rounded edgesbordering the entire perimeter of the door adapted to engage saidrounded edges when in closed position.

4. In a rallway hopper car, the combination of a hopper door framehaving a discharge opening provided with outwardly flared oblique doorengagingsurfa-ces border ing the entire perimeter of the dischargeopening, and a door provided with rounded edges bordering the entireperimeter of the door adapted to engage the door engaging surfaces ofthe frame when in closed position.

5.. In a railway hopper car, the combination of a hopper door framehaving a discharge opening provided with outwardly flared obliquedoorengaging surfaces bordering the entire perimeter of the dischargeopening, and a door provided with an out wardly flared flange borderingthe entire perimeter of the door adapted toengage the 4 door engagingsurfaces of the frame when in closed position, said flange provided witha continuous reflange extending outwardly from the door.

WALTER P. MURPHY.

